Albert Rivera's Adoquín. The political consequences of a meme going viral

Understanding Twitter as a political space, we observe how, in response to the actions of the elites, a society that had previously remained distant and in a process of radicalization comes together under the protection of hashtags and trending topics to engage in public debate. One of its tools of protest is memes, which are used as argumentative reinforcement or as an attack. Their repetitive use facilitates their viralization, expanding their criticism and thereby increasing their social impact. In this study, we will analyse a case in which memes played a significant role in the digital debate: The “Debate a cinco” or 4N Debate, broadcast on 4 November 2019, in which Albert Rivera — leader of the Ciudadanos party — presented before the cameras a visibly fragmented paving stone (panot) of considerable size. This action triggered an avalanche of comments and interactions on Twitter, which continued until the election day on 10 November. The public’s criticism and laughter generated a second media wave, in which digital news outlets, in their coverage of the event, compiled a collection of memes created at Rivera’s expense. This fuelled a social trend of irony and mockery directed at Rivera’s public persona, contributing to a drop from 57 to 10 parliamentary seats, the party’s relegation to fifth place and his subsequent resignation from the presidency of Ciudadanos and an end to his political career.